NextAdvisor creates Web Hosting Report Card

Posted by kent on January 7th, 2010

We've added a new feature to our Web Hosting Reviews: it's our new NextAdvisor Web Hosting Report Card. This chart breaks down our review criteria into a virtual report card of observations and performance metrics that we looked at in our web hosting reviews. You'll find qualitative evaluations of essential components, as well as quantitative data on a host's uptime, average response time, and bandwidth. Uptime and response time numbers come courtesy of Pingdom, while the download test was done in-house.

We think this will give people more information on which web host will fit their specific needs. Check it out!

Phishers target web hosting customers

Posted by kent on December 9th, 2009

You might want to be especially cautious about emails that purport to come from your web host. A new phishing scheme is underway, and it's targeting customers of popular web hosting services. The bait is an email that says the following: "Due to the system maintenance, we kindly ask you to take a few minutes to confirm your FTP details."

Following the included link sends users to a facsimile of the popular cPanel web hosting interface which asks users for their FTP login information. Once that's done, the login info is transfered to the phishers.

Where it goes next is unknown, but  granting access to your website's directory to person or persons unknown is a scary thought. Your site could potentially be used to spread malware or launch attacks.

According to Gary Warner, who uncovered the scheme, the phishers are sending emails with the following subject lines (substituting the name of your web host for "targeted hosting company"):

(targeted hosting company) webhosting update
(targeted hosting company) web hosting update
(targeted hosting company) webhosting user
(targeted hosting company) web hosting update
for (targeted hosting company) webhosting user
for (targeted hosting company) web hosting use

Since phishers change their M.O.s frequently, it's best to exercise the same caution you would with any solicitous email. Anytime you get an email asking you to confirm login credentials you should be wary. Don't trust the links in emails, even if they look to be legitimate. If you really think your web host (or bank, for social network) requires you to log in and make changes, always go directly to the site via a previously bookmarked url that you trust.

Lunarpages discount: 50% off

Posted by kent on November 24th, 2009

Lunarpages, the web host of ever-changing discount codes, is knocking 50% off of the total cost of your order in celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday. The coupon code is: Thanks. It's actually a tremendous deal, bringing the cost of a single year's hosting to $4.48 per month, and the cost of two years down to $3.48 per month. The discount applies to your entire order, so anything extra you pick up (such as domain privacy) qualifies for the discount as well.

We like Lunarpages a lot. Their site builder is really nice, and the hosting is fast and reliable. Our only real quibble was price, but with at this discount we have no complaints.

NextAdvisor guide to using web hosting ad credits

Posted by kent on November 19th, 2009

If you've signed up for web hosting, or spent any time looking into it, you've probably noticed that just about everyone offers Google and/or Yahoo! ad credits. Usually you're offered $50 worth of the former, and sometimes $25 worth of the latter. Just what do those credits buy you, and how do you use them?

Let's look at AdWords. Most people have seen AdWords in action, even if they don't know the program by name. AdWords is a pay-per-click ad program that allows site owners to promote their sites right next to Google search results.

You can use web hosting AdWords credits to bid on keywords and advertise your own site (you cannot use it to pay for the $5.00 sign-up fee, however).

So, what will $50 buy you? You can bid as low as one cent for a keyword (though you'll probably be quickly outbid) or as high as you want. That bid amount represents the most you will pay per click on your ad. Like an eBay auction, you may not end up paying your maximum bid, but you should be prepared to pay that amount per click that you get. If you have the fairly standard $50 ad credit, it can theoretically cover:

50 clicks for a $1.00 bid

1 click for a $50.00 bid

1,000 clicks for a $.05 bid

This is a simplification, of course (and we don't recommend $50 bids). You can pay less if there are lower bids than yours. How much you'll actually need to bid depends on your keyword(s) and how high on the page you'd like your ad to appear. Be aware that your ad credit is a not a hard spending limit. If you don't want to spend more than $50, you'll need to monitor your account carefully. AdWords will let you set daily limits, but not a total budget cap.

That's basically how bidding works. Here's how to redeem an AdWords coupon, if one came with your web hosting:

Step 1: Find your code

This will differ depending on your web host, but most users will find this in their control panel. Here we used HostGator, since it uses the widely used cPanel. You'll find it under Marketing Services:

You should then see a page like the one below. Copy the code (here represented by a series of X's), and follow the link to Google's AdWords page.

Step 2: Register for AdWords

If you don't already have a basic Google account (such as a Gmail account), you'll have to create one. Then you'll have to create an AdWords account:

After you create your account, follow the steps of setting your time zone and currency, and verifying your account. Once you've verified your account, you can log in and get to work.

Step 3: Enter your code

In order to use your ad credits, click the "Billing" tab.

This is where you'll have to input payment information for the aforementioned $5.00 setup fee,  as well as any spending you might do beyond your ad credit (which Google hopes you'll do). After that, click the link next to  "Do you have a promotional code?" and enter the code in the box that appears.

Step 4: Create and Bid

We won't go through the process of making an ad, since Google offers pretty good documentation on how to do that. Beyond your $5.00 set-up fee, you don't have much to lose. If you use your web site to sell something, there's no reason not to try it out. Just make sure you keep track of how much you're spending through your AdWords control panel on Google. Also, there may be an expiration date depending on your web host's offer, so check that too before you begin.

Lunarpages offers 50% discount this weekend only

Posted by kent on November 13th, 2009

Lunarpages is one of our favorite web hosts, a solid performer with a great site builder and control panel. For one weekend only they're offering 50% off of their one- and two-year plans. That puts two years at just under $3.50, and one year at about $4.50. It's a limited-time offer, so you do have to hurry (ironically, the coupon code is: RELAX). It really is a good time to get hosting from them. What's particularly nice is that the 50% discount applies to the whole order, including extras like domain privacy

You can read our review of Lunarpages, or if you're ready go jump in, just follow this link. Just remember to use the coupon code (RELAX) when you check out.

New Lunarpages discount coupon

Posted by kent on November 4th, 2009

There's a new coupon code for web-hosting favorite Lunarpages. "Fall24" will save you $24 off two-years of web hosting. Lunarpages is one of our favorite web hosts that we tested. While more expensive than FatCow or Hostmonster, it's a high-quality service that we really enjoyed using. To get the discount, just follow any links to Lunarpages, then enter the "Fall24" coupon code at check-out (of course, you'll leave out the quotation marks when you do that).

To get the complete rundown on Lunarpages and see how it stacks up against other web hosts, check out our web hosting comparisons and reviews.

Lunarpages web hosting discount for a happier Halloween

Posted by kent on October 29th, 2009

One of our favorite top-quality web hosts, Lunarpages, is celebrating the spooky season with a discount on its two-year plans. Normally, if you want their $4.95-per-month price, you have to go for a five-year plan. Currently, the discount code "Halloween" gives you that same $4.95 price on a two-year plan. This is better than their previous Football-themed discount which saved you $33.00 on the sign-up.

We really liked Lunarpages when we reviewed it. We praised the site builder and the speedy data transfer, as well as its simplified control panel. It's a great price on a really great service.

To get the discount, follow any of the links to Lunarpages from NextAdvisor.com. Select the two-year plan, and enter the code "Halloween" before hitting the "next" button.

ZoneAlarm offers 50% off: Virus and identity theft protection in one

Posted by kent on October 27th, 2009

ZoneAlarm is offering a deal that almost seems to good to be true. ZoneAlarm is taking 50% off of the regular price of its Internet Security Suite which comes with one-year of Identity Guard's Good Start identity theft protection. At $24.95 a year for a three-PC license, it's by far the cheapest Internet security software we've reviewed.

While we weren't completely in love with ZoneAlarm's virus warning system, we did appreciate many of the other new features. The inclusion of Good Start is a sweet bonus. All-in-all, this is a good deal for those looking to try out basic identity theft protection and anti-virus software, but aren't ready to make a huge investment in either. You can read our complete review of ZoneAlarm and see how it compares to the competition with our Internet security software reviews.

The death of a web host; the Internet says goodbye to GeoCities

Posted by kent on October 27th, 2009

In the relatively short history of the web, GeoCities is a bit of a marker. The service has been providing beginning web publishers with free web hosting since 1994. That is, up until yesterday when Yahoo! finally shuttered the site. Things on the web have changed in the last fifteen years, and the ad-supported service was feeling like a relic from a time before blogs, Facebook, wikis, and inexpensive web hosting.

In my usual role of 'old guy on the web' at NextAdvisor, I remember when a lot of sites were hosted on GeoCities (along with the surprisingly extant Angelfire). In 1999, when was I testing search engine relevance for one-time search-giant Inktomi (coincidentally, it too was bought by Yahoo!), GeoCities sites were often in the results. By 2009, as they say, not so much. Now, GeoCities is a custom 404 page.

In 1994, no one would have thought web hosting was important enough to justify spending $60 to $120 per year. Only universities and a few well-known web-savvy brand names had their own domains. Now many people count web hosting costs as a necessary expenditure, right up there with their cel phone, cable, TIVO, and NetFlix fees.

So, farewell GeoCities. You helped make the web what it is today.

New web hosting reviews added, Register.com hosting gets discount

Posted by kent on October 20th, 2009

It's been a big week in web hosting. Last week we launched four more hosting reviews: iPage, BlueHost, Register.com, and Dreamhost. Both BlueHost and iPage shake out at the cheaper end of things. Register.com, the stalwart domain registrar also offers web hosting. Normally it's one of the more expensive plans (at $11.95 per month for a single year), but an exclusive NextAdvisor discount brings the first year down to $4.95 per month.

To see what we thought of Register.com and the rest of the new additions, check out our web hosting reviews and comparisons.